Captive game meat production and consumption tendencies in Lithuania

Abstract

Game meat is one of the most lean, nutrient rich and biologically valuable foods. After Lithuania regained its independence in 1990 and restored the right of private ownership, opportunities for personal and collective initiatives in all sectors of the economy, including hunting, became possible. Based on that, a new type of activity emerged - the cultivation of wild game. There are two ownership types of wild game enclosures in Lithuania - private and state owned. According to data of 1998, 9 game animal enclosures were operating in Lithuania, compared to 640 in 2015. In 2015 the most commonly grown game animals were fallow deer (7.5 thousand) and reindeer (4.6 thousand). The study found that 30% of wildlife enclosures were set up for the purpose of game production, of which 37% of the owners with enclosures traded in game production and 42% used game for personal use. However, results indicated that many of today´s potential buyers are not provided sufficient information about the production of game meat. A questionnaire survey (n = 121) found that only 4% of the respondents were vegetarians and the remaining consumers had many fears about the quality of the game meat. A major concern of consumers was the quality of the meat production process (how the meat was extracted, wellbeing of animals, nutrition, ecological and ethical aspects), as well as the quality, nutritional value and health properties of the product itself. To address these concerns in Lithuania, it would be necessary to amend the legal regulations related to game management and its production chains. Although wild game farmers invest substantially in farm infrastructure and high quality meat production, there is a need for cooperation and better knowledge for the development of a better business plan and communication strategy. To market game products, you need to provide a high quality product and be able to communicate with the client.